John VI of Portugal & Brazil
When people think of South American liberation, they think of bloody wars against Spain, brutal dictators, and Bolívar. But what about Brazil? Portugal colonized Brazil, so where are the bloody wars against Portugal? There were none. In fact, at the time between when Brazil became free and it became a republic, it had a monarchy. It all started with King John VI of Portugal. Napoleon was invading Europe and set his sights on Portugal, which had conquered Spain. His armies stormed through Lisbon, and the monarch was fleeing. His citizens watched from the port as their monarch fled. John established his presence in the enormous colony of Brazil, which was owned by Portugal. He became the monarch of the land, and Brazil was freed from Portuguese rule, oddly by Portugal’s own monarch.
Since Brazil was free from colonial restraints, its people were free of tariffs, colonial taxes, trade restrictions, building restrictions, and, most importantly, overlooking Portugal because Brazil was now Portugal. The people celebrated the arrival of their monarch, and the arts flourished. Rio de Janeiro became the nation’s new capital, and the king sought to rebuild the city. But the plans were canceled when Napoleon pulled out of Portugal, the troops rebelled, and a liberal revolution broke out. That went differently than planned. He left his son, Pedro IV of Portugal, and the first of Brazil, ruler.
Pedro I of Brazil (and Portugal?)
The second king of Brazil, Pedro I, reigned through extraordinary times. He rebuilt Rio de Janeiro, adding universities, schools, government buildings, cathedrals, churches, and many more. He paved the city’s streets, which now looked like a European capital. He married an Austrian archduchess, Maria Leopoldgina. Portugal’s Cortes (parliament) wanted Brazil to become a colony, and Pedro would have to return to Portugal. Pedro decided to declare independence from Portugal and establish the Kingdom of Brazil.
He established a congress in Brazil to make a constitution and chose which laws from Portugal would stay and which would leave. However, Congress wants Pedro to become a figurehead rather than an absolute monarch. Pedro dissolves the assembly and ends writing the constitution. He established a Presidential Monarchy, much like the United States’s system, only that the monarch would oversee and modify each branch. It still had a president, but the president co-ruled with the monarch. It was much like Canada’s government.
Meanwhile, King John died in Portugal, and Pedro wanted to seize the government. Pedro broke up with Maria Leopoldgina, and the government became unpopular. He fought a series of wars in the South, and the people were mad when he returned. He returned to Portugal to sort things out, leaving his son, Pedro II, king.
Pedro II of Brazil
Pedro II was only 5 years old at the time, and the constitution said that kings could take power at 18. So, a group of advisors ruled for him until he was old enough. This resulted in anarchy, with many uprisings and revolts across Brazil. The advisors desperately needed Pedro to be king, but he was only 15. So, the advisors ignored his age (side note: they did not have birth certificates then) and declared him 18 so he could rule. In 1841, he was crowned king, and in 1843, he married Teresa Cristina, an Italian princess. In 1850, Brazil enforced an act that had been signed in 1826 that said that enslaved people were not allowed to be imported or exported anymore. The slave trade had not been taxed, so Brazil now had a lot of money, and the arts and sciences flourished. It is often called the “Golden Age” of Brazil. Many novels and paintings have been made to celebrate Brazil’s history. In fact, Brazil had thought about laying railroad tracks and telegraph wires across the country.
But, in 1852, Brazil and its allies defeated Argentina in the Platine War. In the war, a lot of enslaved people had taken up arms in the Brazilian army because they had been promised freedom. But, returning home, they were denied freedom. In 1867, Pedro II made a speech calling for the end of slavery, but it would not end until 1888. During most of the war and many acts that took steps to abolish slavery, Pedro II was touring Europe and America. He went to the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876, the 100th anniversary of American independence. When he returned home, he saw the monarchy as doomed. And he did not attempt to fix it. He did not care at all. This made the public very mad, and the republican party in the country wanted to make a republic. In 1889, he stepped down after a military uprising and left the country for more travel. He died in Paris in 1891 at the age of 66. The kingdom had lasted 67 years.
